The Sun Temple and its stepped tank at Modhera, Gujarat, on a clear sunny day

Gujarat · 7 Days

Gujarat — Heritage & Stepwells

Stepwells, sun temples and palaces — four nights in Ahmedabad, two in Vadodara.

Day by Day

7 Days, In Full

For travellers who come for architecture. Four nights in Ahmedabad, with the old city, stepwells at Adalaj and Dada Harir, the Hutheesing Jain Temple, and a day trip to Modhera's Sun Temple and Patan's Rani ki Vav. Two nights in Vadodara for Laxmi Vilas Palace and the ruined walled city of Champaner-Pavagadh.

Ahmedabad

Arrive in Ahmedabad

Your driver meets you at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport. Ahmedabad became India's first UNESCO World Heritage City in 2017. Its old quarter is a maze of pols, or walled lanes of carved wooden havelis. Check in and rest. In the late afternoon, walk beside the Sabarmati river as the light softens. Dinner is a first taste of Gujarati cooking, sweet-savoury and mostly vegetarian.

Ahmedabad

Old Ahmedabad and Sabarmati Ashram

A full day in the walled city with a local guide. You visit the Jama Masjid and the Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, famous for its stone-lattice windows carved as trees. The pols come next, with their painted balconies and bird-feeding towers. After lunch, visit Sabarmati Ashram, Mahatma Gandhi's home on the river from 1917. It is plain, quiet and moving. Timings vary, so we confirm them on the day.

Ahmedabad

Stepwells, Jain Marble and Street Food

Gujarat's stepwells are places to cool off as well as to draw water. Adalaj Vav drops five storeys of carved sandstone. Dada Harir Stepwell, built in 1499, is smaller and quieter. In the afternoon, the white-marble Hutheesing Jain Temple, begun in 1848, shows some of the finest carving in the city. After dark, an evening food walk through the old city. The stalls sell farsan, dhokla, sweets and fresh sugarcane juice.

Carved stone galleries and pillars inside Rani ki Vav stepwell in Patan, Gujarat

Ahmedabad

Modhera Sun Temple and Rani ki Vav

A day trip north into the old Solanki heartland. The Sun Temple at Modhera dates from the early 11th century. Its carved pillars and stepped tank are set to catch the sunrise. Then on to Patan, where Rani ki Vav is a UNESCO World Heritage stepwell. Its walls carry hundreds of carved sculptures, cut in the 11th century. The drive takes about two and a half hours each way. You are back in Ahmedabad by evening.

Tree canopy against a blue sky with white clouds in Dabhoi, Vadodara district, Gujarat

Ahmedabad → Vadodara

Ahmedabad to Vadodara

A short morning drive of two hours or so to Vadodara, once the seat of the Gaekwad Maharajas. The city is greener and calmer than Ahmedabad. The afternoon is free, or given to Sayaji Baug and the city's museums. Dinner is in the hotel.

The twin-minaret Jama Masjid at Champaner in the UNESCO-listed Champaner-Pavagadh archaeological park, Gujarat, on a sunny day

Vadodara

Laxmi Vilas Palace and Champaner

Start at Laxmi Vilas Palace, the Gaekwads' royal residence, an Indo-Saracenic building set in wide grounds. Access to parts of the palace is set by the family, so we confirm what is open. After lunch, drive to Champaner-Pavagadh, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It holds a walled medieval city with mosques, gateways and stepwells. A local guide walks you through the best of it. The drive is about an hour each way.